Without pay for 3 months, retired disabled fire officer told to vacate quarters

A retired disabled Mumbai Fire Bridge Officer whose pleas to get his retirement dues cleared has fallen into deaf ears is looking at an uncertain future as the day to vacate his official quarters is approaching fast This is amid his difficulty to meet the expenses for his monthly medicine and attendantrsquos allowances as he has not received any payment since his retirement three months agoThe worst is that if the officer Vishwajeet Nikam 58 fails to vacate the quarters at Byculla by this week his gratuity payment will be withheld and he will also have to pay exorbitant rent to the corporation for overstaying in the official quarters The department has allegedly made Nikam who was rendered wheelchairbound after sustaining serious spinal cord injury and losing a limb while in service 14 years ago sign an affidavit stating that he would vacate the quarters within three months of his retirementNikam who retired on Nov 30 2021 claimed he was not given promotion due to his disabilityHe said ldquoI will move to my late fatherrsquos house near Mahalakshmi If I do not vacate the quarters as per norms the department has the right to withhold my gratuity dues and even charge me a hefty rent for overstayingrdquoNo paymentNikam said ldquoThis has come as a surprise to me after serving the department for 33 long years I retired on November 30 2021 Usually it is a practice that some part of the dues get cleared on the day of retirement but I was not fortunate to get any such paymentrdquoHe added ldquoI thought the delay was due to the ongoing audit work However my worries increased as days passed Despite assurance from my superiors by this weekend three months would have passed since my retirement and I have no source of income to meet the mounting medical bills attendantsrsquo payment and my sonrsquos educationrdquoSince January this year Nikam has written several letters to his superiors explaining his financial and personal condition One such letter to the chief fire officer of Mumbai Fire Brigade dated January 24 read ldquoIt is disturbing that after a long and sincere service of over 33 years I have to suffer by not even getting dues worth lakhs as well as the provisional temporary pension which is due to me since last three monthsrdquoNikam told midday ldquoApart from the pension the provident fund dues balance leave encashment gratuity etc which are my legitimate rights are also not cleared If all my dues are taken into consideration I am entitled for a decent sum which could help me to take care of my monthly medical and even future expenses as my monthly pension would be as per the seventh pay commission slab ratesrdquoldquoI am already facing comorbid health conditions like diabetes and blood pressure other than being a handicapped I was planning to save my retirement emoluments so that I could continue to lead a financially independent old age but now I am worried especially when I have to keep reminding my own department about my health personal and even my financial status and ask for the pending duesrdquo said an emotional NikamAccident and false promisesNikam son of late chief fire officer VB Nikam had worked as an assistant divisional fire officer for 24 years when the accident took place on October 6 2008 He was heading towards his car when a roadside banyan tree owned by BMC fell on him at Mazagon Surgeons had to amputate his left leg to prevent septicemia and his spine too was operated for an L1 fractureHe claimed he had to foot the bill of Rs 1 lakh for his artificial leg as well as Rs 12 lakh for his hospitalisation and medicines ldquoThe fire department had initially promised that they would bear the medical expenses but no financial assistance was offered The department had also promised a prosthetic leg which never camerdquo Nikam saidSince his recovery he was on a supervisory post at the control room of Mumbai Fire Brigade Nikam alleged that his colleagues started treating him like dirt and some junior officers were promoted while his promotion was withheld on the grounds of his disabilityOthersideAttempts to contact Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide did not yield any result H D Parab chief fire officer Mumbai Fire Brigade said ldquoWe must understand that a process needs to be followed before the accounts department does their part of clearing the dues At our end we have completed our processing and are coordinating with the accounts department Hopefully he will get his temporary pension and other dues before the end of this month or first week of March as per normsrdquo33Years Nikam served the Fire Brigade